“How long should we keep a Secret?”
John 19:38
For 5 Sundays, now we have looked at what it means to go public with our faith. Last Sunday, I told you that there were two men in scripture who went public by coming forward to request the body of Jesus following His crucifixion. One of those men was Nicodemus who had originally come to Jesus at night. He told Jesus that he knew he was from God because no one could possibly do the miraculous signs Jesus had done if He wasn’t from God. Jesus responded to him and said, to enter the kingdom you must be born again. This was the first record of Jesu saying this to anyone. We see later, in John that Nicodemus stands up to defend Jesus against the Jewish leaders. Now, at the end of the gospel here is Nicodemus; as he comes forward to request the body. By doing so he was definitely going public with his faith.
Nicodemus is accompanied by a man named Joseph. A popular name in scripture. 1of 13 men with that name which is why he is referred to as Joseph of Arimathea; a town; this helps identify him. According to John, Joseph was a disciple but only in secret. This was for good reason because of the crucifixion of Jesus; Joseph feared the Jewish leaders. I think it is for similar reasons that Peter, when asked if he knows Jesus, denies it 3 times in one evening. FEAR. Fear causes us not to speak up for our Lord. As we said previously, it takes courage to speak up especially in tough situations.
So, together, these two men have now gone from being private to being public. From keeping their faith a secret to telling everyone. The woman at the well was the same way. She had to be thinking, because of her lack of social standing, no one was going to listen to her yet she went completely public with her faith. And now, Joseph and Nicodemus came forward because they want to ensure the proper burial of Jesus. In the poem, One Solitary Life, it is stated that Jesus …..
Never wrote a book, never held office
Never went to college, never visited a big city
Never traveled more than 200 miles from his place of birth
The Bible says He had no place to lay his head and then at his death there is no burial place for the Son of God. Incredible. So Joseph says, “Well, you can use mine. I mean you’re not gonna be in it long, anyway, right?” Just temporary space. Rentatomb.com. Joseph and Nicodemus receive the body of Jesus and together they prepare the body for burial. According to scripture they have 75 pounds of aloe and myrrh they use to cover the body. They, then wrapped the body in linen, placed it in the tomb and rolled a stone across the entrance. One of the things that I love is that all 4 gospel writers tells us something about Joseph. If you haven’t read all 4 gospels you may not realize they are very different. They don’t just all tell the same stories over and over. The only miracle they all tell is the feeding of the 5000. Mark and Luke tell is the feeding of the 5000. Mark and Luke tells us that Joseph was looking forward to the kingdom. Matthew is more precise and says Joseph ad become a disciple of Jesus. John adds a bit more detail and tells us he kept it a secret out of fear of the Jews. And he had every reason to be afraid. But there comes a time when our faith must outweigh our fear. Now, we’re spoiled in the U.S. We are free to share the gospel; we can worship publicly, we can sit and read the Bible wherever we like. I looked at the 50 most dangerous countries for believers to live in. Many of these are dangerous due to Islamic oppression. In many places your life is in real danger if you have gone public with your faith.
Going public in the U.S. is different but can still cost us something. If you don’t know, not everyone in America is a believer. Everyone doesn’t have a positive image in their mind regrading believers. Some may even mock you for your faith. It can create difficulty in the workplace. You may even be treated in a different way. But bottom line, there comes a time when your faith must outweigh your fear. Joseph was referred to as a secret disciple. In early Christianity, believers would often draw a fish in the sand; if the other individual passing by completed it, then they knew they could freely speak to each other about their faith. It was safe. They were both fishers of men.
Our faith must outweigh our fear. 2nd, we must learn to trust God’s timing. Frankly there are times to speak up and there are time to be quiet. Solomon says there is a time to speak and a time to be silent. Now, we have the silent part down pat, right? It’s as though when someone shared Christ with us, they said, ”Hey, can you keep a secret?” And we said, sure. And we have done a great job. But there are some times when it is legitimate to simply not speak up about our faith. Let me give you 3.
• When someone simply wants to argue. Listen, sharing our faith is not about winning an argument or about who is “right.”
• When our heart is in the wrong place. Especially if we are angry. Remember, our mouth and our heart are connected. “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” If your heart’s in the wrong place, its best to just remain silent. And here’s some advice. If you’re angry, just stop talking. PERIOD. “He who holds his tongue is wise. Silence can keep us from sinning.
• When our words will hurt more than they will help. You know buddy, you better turn or burn! Get right or get left!
I like what Peter says. “Always, be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have.” Two things he tells us here about speaking up. (1) When do we speak? Always, when we are asked to do so. Always. (2) Should we think through what we will say when we are asked? Yes, always be prepared. Have a brief testimony ready to share. Do you have one? Be prepared to share the reason for your hope. Hope just may be the best word in the Bible. Paul; said when you grieve, don’t grieve like people who have no hope. Hope makes a difference in everything. There are people everywhere, today walking around, with no hope whatsoever. And we have it. It’s time to let the secret out.
Communion.
